associated with externalizing behaviors, including antisocial behavior and alcohol-related aggression [Conner et al., 2007]. Suicidal behavior is influenced by genetic factors [Bondy et al., 2006], and it is thought that the predisposition to suicidal behavior reflects a heritable liability to personality traits such as impulsivity and aggression [Baud, 2005]. To the extent that these characteristics also predispose to substance use and externalizing problems, it is reasonable to hypothesize that suicidal behavior may represent another manifestation of an underlying predisposition toward behavioral disinhibition. Longitudinal studies have found that behavioral disinhibition measured in childhood/adolescence predicts both the development of substance use disorders and a propensity toward suicidal behavior in young adulthood [Tarter et al., 2004].
